Deontay Wilder trolled after blaming Tyson Fury loss on his 'too heavy' ring-walk costume

25 February 2020, 12:49

Wilder has blamed his knockout loss to Tyson Fury on this 40lb ring-walk costume.
Wilder has blamed his knockout loss to Tyson Fury on this 40lb ring-walk costume. Picture: Getty

Wilder says 40-pound entrance costume wore down legs before his fight against Fury.

Deontay Wilder has blamed his heavyweight title defeat against Tyson Fury on the three-stone costume he wore during his ring-walk before the fight, saying it was 'too heavy' and impacted his legs.

>> The best Hip-Hop songs of 2020 so far

The 34-year-old confirmed to ESPN that he will "definitely" exercise his right to another fight with Fury, 31, following the seventh-round defeat on Saturday (22 Feb), before attributing his first loss to the weight of his pre-show outfit.

"There were a lot of things that went wrong leading up to the fight, in the last minutes before the fight, but I accept full responsibility," Wilder said. "I paid a severe price because my legs were how they were because of my uniform. My uniform was way too heavy."

Deontay Wilder says his 40-pound costume wore down legs before his fight against Tyson.
Deontay Wilder says his 40-pound costume wore down legs before his fight against Tyson. Picture: Getty

"It was 40-plus pounds. We had it on 10 or 15 minutes before we even walked out and then put the helmet on. That was extra weight, then the ring walk, then going up the stairs. It was like a real workout for my legs. When I took it off, I knew immediately that game has changed."

The former titleholder told Yahoo Sports that Fury "didn’t hurt me at all, but the simple fact is my uniform was way too heavy for me."

Wilder added that the costume, an elaborate suit of armour with a crown and mask, was intended to be a tribute to Black History Month. "I wanted it to be good and I guess I put that before anything," he said.

Fans took to Twitter in response to Wilder's claim; even YouTuber-turned-boxer Logan Paul questioned putting the blame of his "horrible performance" on his costume.

Meanwhile, Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn appeared to mock Wilder's 'heavy costume' excuse, saying, "To be fair now I found out he lost because his ring walk outfit was too heavy, I'm glad he's gonna get another chance."

Hearn recently told Sky Sports that a fight between Joshua and Fury "will happen" in the future.

> Download Our Free App For All The Latest News!

Live Playlists